The way The "goal" Background Chinese texts Classical Post-classical Contemporary Zen in Japan Seon in Korea Thiền in Vietnam Western Zen Xinxin Ming (alternate spellings Xin Xin Ming or Xinxinming) (Chinese: 信心銘; Pīnyīn: Xìnxīn Míng; Wade–Giles: Hsin Hsin Ming; Rōmaji: Shinjinmei), meaning literally: "Faith-Mind Inscription", is a poem attributed to the Third Chinese Chán Patriarch Jianzhi Sengcan (Chinese: 鑑智僧璨; Pīnyīn: Jiànzhì Sēngcàn; Wade–Giles: Chien-chih Seng-ts'an; Romaji: Kanchi Sōsan) and one of the earliest Chinese Chan expressions of the Buddhist mind training practice.
While this interpretation may appear to some to be a departure from the traditional view of seeking refuge in the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha), it is actually a deliberate declaration and poetic polemic of the Chan (Zen) school written as a response to the increasingly popular movement of faith in Amitābha Buddha known as Pure Land Buddhism.
Thus, faith in outward Buddhas is contrary to the goal of Buddhism, which is the direct experience of enlightenment.
The word "inscription" does accurately convey the idea of a truth that can survive the test of time and is the more literal meaning of ming (銘).
As the text states, Any degeneration of your previous practice on emptiness arises because of false perspectives.
[a]Moreover, the passage that follows immediately after explicitly warns against losing the original, true mind (失心): Do not dwell in the two biased views.
[8] The classical source of the Xinxin Ming can be found in the Transmission of the Lamp (Chinese: 景德傳燈錄; Pinyin: Jǐngdé Chuándēng-lù; Wade–Giles: Ching-te Ch'uanteng-lu; Japanese: Keitoku Dentō-roku).